Chelsea defender Christensen close to new four-year contract

Chelsea have agreed a new four-year contract with Andreas Christensen, which includes a club option to keep him for an extra year beyond that.

The 25-year-old's current deal was set to expire in less than a year and had he failed to agree with Chelsea, he would likely have left the west London club.

However, after two months of talks, the Denmark international has finally come to terms with the Stamford Bridge outfit over a new deal which will see him increase his salary.

Christensen makes major turnaround

It is understood that the central defender has negotiated a significant pay rise but also shunned talks with a host of clubs that tried to turn his head.

Having joined the Blues at the age of 16, he is known to feel an affinity towards Chelsea and he will now likely surpass 10 years with the team.

Under Thomas Tuchel, Christensen has produced his best form and he was a key player in the run that saw Chelsea win their second Champions League trophy last term.

"I feel like I am getting close but I still think I can get better than I have been. I play more and get more fit if that makes sense. I've been playing a lot and growing a lot," Christensen said in a response to  Goal  ahead of the final.

He followed up his good form with Chelsea to be a key player for semi-finalists Denmark at Euro 2020.

It's a remarkable turnaround for the defender who hadn't been a big part of former manager Frank Lampard's plans. Christensen was only offered a one-and-a-half year extension to his current contract in January, before Tuchel arrived.

What else is happening at Chelsea?

Chelsea are dealing with new contracts, incoming and outgoing transfers in the last week of the window.

With Christensen renewing his deal, there have been struggles in trying to get Antonio Rudiger to do the same.

Some around the club are worried that the Germany international will run down his contract so that he can talk to clubs over a free transfer in January.

Furthermore, Kurt Zouma is close to being sold to West Ham for £26 million ($36m) in a deal that is expected to trigger another approach to sign Jules Kounde from Sevilla.

As first revealed by Goal , Trevoh Chalobah has been offered a new five-year contract by Chelsea after being taken off the loan list.

Tuchel has been impressed with the 22-year-old enough to offer him a place in the squad at Stamford Bridge.

With 15 players already out on loan, the Blues will move to sell and send more out on temporary moves. Tiemoue Bakayoko will soon join AC Milan on a two-year loan with an obligation to buy.

Emerson Palmieri left the squad to join Lyon last week and it has been revealed to Goal that the deal saw him extend his Blues contract until 2024.

It's possible that the Italy international could return to the club next season after a season in Ligue 1.

Meanwhile, Chelsea are weighing up their plans in midfield with Tuchel having taken a long look at both Ethan Ampadu and Ruben Loftus-Cheek as options.

Yet, the Blues boss is still considering signing Saul from Atletico Madrid on loan to bolster his options.  It would likely trigger loan moves or even sales for Ampadu and Loftus-Cheek.

Further reading

• Tuchel: We don't have the biggest squad
• Chelsea's growing loan army
• Lukaku bullies everyone he comes up against - James